U.S. GOVERNMENT A-G Participation

Examples of Participation: What examples can you think of where citizens participate in the government process? Think of things that your parents might participate in at the local or state level. Do they vote? Do they participate in town hall or board of county supervisor meetings? Do they donate time or resources to a political party. Have they participated in jury duty? Have they adopted a highway?

Participating in Government People may participate in politics in many ways. They can write their Representative or Senator, or work for a candidate or political party. They can make presentations to their local school board or city council, or call the police to complain about the neighbor's dog. Partly because of our federalist system, people have many opportunities to participate in our democracy on federal, state, and local levels. Some forms of participation are more common than others and some citizens participate more than others, but almost everyone has a voice in government.

Who Participates Experts have found several social and economic characteristics to be strongly associated with high levels of political participation:  Education, Age, Racial and Ethnic Groups, Gender

Education and Civic Participation The single most important characteristic of a politically active citizen is a high level of education. Generally, the more education an individual has, the more likely he or she is to vote. Why? Perhaps because the well educated understand complex issues better, or maybe they have learned the importance of civic responsibility. Or it could just be that their occupations are more flexible in allowing them to take time to go to the polls. Others argue that since educated people tend to be wealthier, they have more at stake in the political process. What do you think about this? Do you agree?

Age and Civic Participation Despite the big push in the early 1970s to allow 18 year olds to vote, year olds have consistently held the lowest rate of voting. In fact, in recent years their older siblings (age 25-34) don't do a whole lot better. The highest percentages of eligible voters who actually vote are in those groups 45 and above. Why do you think this is this the case?

Race and Civic Participation Racial and Ethnic Groups: If only race and ethnicity are considered, whites have higher voting rates than do blacks and Latinos. However, that tendency is somewhat deceptive. Some studies that control for income and education levels have found that the voting rates are about the same for whites, blacks, and Latinos.

Gender and Participation Gender: For many years women were underrepresented at the voting booths, but in recent elections, they have turned out in at least equal numbers to men. In fact, in 1992 and 1996, turnout among women actually exceeded that of men.

A History of Civic Participation In order to establish a country with as much potential as the United States, this involved a substantial amount of civic participation on the part of the founding fathers. Had they not stepped to the plate and participated in what they thought was necessary, the American colonies would have continued to be colonies of England. Thomas Jefferson George WashingtonAlexander HamiltonBenjamin Franklin

Voter Rights and Responsibilities in Virginia Investigate the following web-site  responsibilities responsibilities  /

Examples of Citizen participation in Government See if you can identify examples of citizen participation in government in the following video. How do you feel about these examples? Is it important that citizens participate?

ICivics, Rights and Responsibilities Use PowerPoint and handout. 

Review of Civic Engagement and Participation What are the elements that make up Civic Engagement or Civic Life? Who within our society participates in government most? List some examples of participating in government: